Diary of a Mad Man
by FemaleRobbery
Summary: AU. There has been a string of crimes happening in HO. Ranging from petty crimes all the way to murders. Ste Hay is the top detective and it's his job to figure out if these crimes are connected and try to stop the individual(s) before they strike again.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: Hi hey hello hola. So I'm venturing out into AU territory. I don't know if my other fic counts as AU I don't think so. Anyway please enjoy I'm gonna give a quick summary after this.**

* * *

**Summary**: Year 2013. Location is still HO. Places are all the same, same characters as well. There has been a string of crimes happening in HO. Ranging from petty crimes (trespassing, property damage) all the way to serious crimes (assault, murder). Ste Hay is the top detective in HO and it's his job to figure out if these crimes are connected and try to stop the individual(s) before they harm anyone else.

**Warnings**: I'm only listing it this one time here so on some chapters it may or may not have these. Explicit language, violence, gruesome murder scenes, etc.

**Note**: Almost all of the legal stuff will be completely wrong since I'm just making it up. I don't live in the UK so not sure if the law is the same as it is here so please go along with it lol. Enjoy?

* * *

_"Great another hit and run. What do we know about this one?"_

DI Hay, 25, had been in the force since he was 20. Had quickly risen to the top of his class and now was seen as the main detective for HO. He knew what he was doing and didn't let his emotions cloud his judgments. He had his loyal group of detectives behind him that have been investigating these recent crimes happening in HO. It was a quiet village till about 4 months ago when little crimes started happening. No one was concerned until a villager was found murdered in the park. They were laid down on a bench and it appeared like the murderer posed them after killing them. It wasn't a pretty sight. After that things just kept going downhill.

_"Not much actually. No one saw anything, being that its midnight. Body would still be out here in the morning had not that drunk guy stumbled right over it." _DI Carter responded back to him_. "We got all the pictures taken and we got people pacing the street here trying to find anything, but that's about it."_

_"Good good. Let's go ahead and move the body then. Get her to the morgue. These guys can finish up here while we go back to the station and look through all this."_

* * *

The body was put in a body bag and taken away to the morgue for further examination and to get a final autopsy. Ste and Doug drove back to the station and grabbed themselves a coffee before sitting down and going through the paperwork. It was just about 2 AM so it was going to be a long night. No sleep tonight. Ste looked through the report and skimmed through the information, Doug had already been at the scene before Ste arrived so he had already been briefed about it.

_"Debra Hudson. 21. So it says she was hit from the back."_

_"Yep apparently they believe the car was going well past the speeding limit and crashed right into her. Didn't even attempt to hit the brakes. Her legs were completely mangled and her whole body is burnt from were it skid across the road."_

_"And no one heard anything? It's pretty hard not to hear and see a speeding car slamming into a person. I mean the windshield had to have broken on the impact."_

_"Ste we asked around and no one says they heard anything. We spoke to the guy that called it in and he didn't see anything. He was heading home after been in the club all night and basically walked right into it, falling down on a pool of blood."_

_"So we have nothing to go on then? No witnesses? No description of the car?"_

_"As of right now we have nothing."_

_"Fucking terrific Doug. Come on let's go see if they found anything on the scene."_

* * *

They both picked up the paperwork and headed down to the lab. Inside there were technicians everywhere. Piecing together little parts. Talking amongst themselves as they tried figuring out what happened. Ste approached the main technician.

_"Hiya Pete. You got anything for me?"_

_"Actually I do Ste. We were able to recover a couple pieces of scrap off the road. Looks like car pieces to me. We haven't put them together to see exactly what part of the car it came off from but were assuming it has to be from the hood. This is definitely from the front lights and this part I think is from the spot right below the windshield."_

_"Great great. So what exactly can I take from this. I see its black. But what about the light."_

_"Yeah appears the car is black but it's kind of a matte black. No shine or anything. And the light piece is interesting. "_

_"Why you say that? Looks like any other car light."_

_"Not entirely. If you look closely their actually blue lights. Some cars do have these, but most have your standard kinds. You know your white or yellowish color. Not only that but the lights aren't that bright to begin with, and it's not because they were old or anything. Looks like the owner bought them that way. Kind of a special touch. Wouldn't really brighten much in the night time."_

_"So why have them if you can't use it at night?"_

_"I don't know it's weird really. Unless you don't use the car often or don't go out at night then they are pretty pointless. But we got to talking and we think maybe the reason is so that the car stays hidden. You don't really see it coming your way even if it's only a couple feet away from you. Makes for a surprise attack."_

_"Makes sense. So for now I'm looking for a matte black car with some blue dimmed lights?"_

_"Yeah. I know there's a ton of black cars but I don't think I seen matte ones. Shouldn't be that difficult. Well unless they already left the village. Oh and the windshield will be broken, obviously. The hood would also have a lot of damage."_

_"Alright thanks Pete. Let me know if you find anything else, you got my number. See ya guys. Get some rest when you get a chance."_

* * *

Ste and Doug walked outside the station to get some air.

_"So what you thinking Ste?"_

_"I like this theory of the car been hidden. I can see what he was saying about the lights. They made them so dim so that no one sees you coming. They want you to not be expecting anything before they get you. But it doesn't make sense in this case. What did the girl have to do with anything? Looked like she was a random villager going home and the car just hit her. And knowing the lights are so bad they probably didn't see her till it was too late."_

_"I get that but if it was an accident why didn't they stop and call for help. I can see being nervous about hitting someone but if you have nothing to hide then why not stop."_

_"That's exactly it, they did have something to hid. No innocent person slams into someone and doesn't even hit the brakes once Doug. I don't think they meant to hit her but she was just at the wrong place. I'm thinking whoever it was was coming back from another crime. Speeding to get away from another there and happened to run into this girl. No pun intended."_

_"Very funny Ste. So this one isn't connected?"_

_"Trying to lighten the mood here. But no I think this is a basic hit and run. I'm thinking that we are going to get a call about another death soon though. I know this person had to have been coming from another scene and has no remorse, no guilt, no compassion to even hesitate to stop and check on the victim. The driver has to be connected to these past crimes we gotten. I know it."_

_"Guess tomorrow we are chasing pavement?"_

_"Wear comfortable shoes Dougie boy. We are on the hunt."_

* * *

**There is gonna be a lot of dialogue in this fic I can already tell lol. I know y'all are probably like why Doug? I don't like him either but he fits with where I am going. And don't worry this is a Ste and Brendan story, so he makes an appearance just bare with me. Oh and what do y'all think I should put this under, is it M or T? Anyway hope you enjoyed. Review please?**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you guys for reading and to the few that reviewed thank youuu so much. Brendan makes a small appearance in this one lol. I hope you enjoy =)**

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_"Oh come on Ste are you really going to get a drink at 11 in the morning?"_

_"Yes Doug I am. I barely got any sleep last night and it's going to be a long day. Need something to keep me going."_

_"It's called coffee, ever heard of it? Besides alcohol won't help, you'll end up worst."_

_"Well then I'll get some food...and then a drink. Now stop whining and get a move on."_

They both had spent all last night going over reports for the hit and run case and didn't come up with much. They knew the car color and specifics about the front lights, so today was going to be spent walking around searching for a car that matched that description. But Ste wanted to start off his work day with a cool beverage...alcoholic beverage. Ste knew exactly where he was going. There was only one club/bar he went to. Chez Chez. He happened to know the owners sister, Cheryl Brady, who was the assistant manager. They met about 4 years ago when he barely had a year under his belt as a cop. He was at the station turning in paperwork and then a rainbow of colors came bursting through the front doors. She talked so fast that Ste gave her a blunt _"Slow the fuck down lady."_ He wasn't that professional back then. Turns out Cheryl's older brother had been arrested and she was there to speak to the arresting officers. Ste didn't ask much questions just pointed her in the right direction. Since then they randomly bumped into each other throughout the years and got close about a year ago. He considered her as one of his close friends. She always invites him to come to the club to relax and whenever he does its free drinks for him. So why wouldn't he come now.

_"Hi Love!"_ There she was dressed in the most eye blinding pink dress you have ever seen. Ste assumed she was wearing 7 inch heels, but she was behind the bar so he couldn't see.

_"Hiya Cheryl. How ya been?"_

_"Doing alright. Hi Doug. Did y'all want a drink or anything? Wait are you working? What did he do?" _Cheryl went from joyous to worried in a second.

_"What? Who you talking about?"_

_"Well you got your badges out so I'm guessing y'all are working. Here to ask him questions or something."_

Ste stared at her confused for a bit till it finally hit him. Brendan Brady, older brother of Cheryl, owner of Chez Chez, and a complete nutter to be honest. Ste didn't really speak to him much, maybe twice in his whole life. Not to say he hasn't seen him quite often. In and out of the police station. He never dealt with him, it was always other officers. Always being brought in for questioning. Always being released hours later. He was a weird one. Twitchy, cold, angry, tempered, mysterious, unreadable, mad. And definitely dodgy. That's when a light bulb went off in his head.

_"No Chez I just wanted a drink that's all. You worry too much."_

_"Well that comes from being Brendan's sister. Sorry. So what can I get ya."_

After a couple minutes of drinking and chatting about useless things, Ste decides to get to work.

_"So how was it yesterday here? Thursdays aren't that busy huh."_

_"Pretty dull really. We had a few rushes come in."_

_"Least you were well staffed right?"_

_"Yep it was Warren, Jacqui, Ash, and I. Don't know why I got so many people on Thursday. Silly me I hate doing those rotas."_

_"Why doesn't Brendan do them? He seems like he can manage that."_

_"You give him too much credit." _They both start laughing with each other_. "But no you got a point he should. I'll mention it to him when I see him later."_

_"It'll relieve some of your stress at least. Why havent you brought it up earlier?"_

_"Don't see him that long. It's just a quick hug and that's about all the conversation we have."_

_"He's the owner. Is he not here every night? At least for a few hours where y'all can sit down and talk."_

_"Some days. We switch off every few days. Like this week he did Monday and Tuesday. And I did Wednesday and Thursday. He had a meeting this morning so I'm just covering for him till he gets back."_

_"You know when that will be."_

_"Any second now. Noon."_

Ste ended up stalling there till 10 minutes before 12 and then told Cheryl they were off to work.

_"See ya chez. I'll text ya later yeah?"_

_"Yeah love be safe."_

* * *

Doug takes the lead and starts walking down the street.

_"Hold up Doug let's wait here for a second."_

_"What for? We already wasted an hour that we could have been investigating."_

_"Who said I wasn't investigating in there?"_ Ste sees a car pull up to the side of Chez Chez and he looks over at Doug and winks. _"See."_

_"Ah clever. Go on."_

Brendan steps out of the car and briefly leans rest his head on the top of the car.

_"Rough morning?"_

Brendan doesn't even look up at Ste as he gives a muffled grunt into his suit jacket.

_"You could say that. Steven. Douglas. What can I do for ya?"_

Doug doesn't speak just keeps quiet throughout the conversation as its clear that he and Brendan don't see eye to eye. Ste clears his throat and looks around the place like he's never been there before.

_"Nothing was just leaving your club and thought I should be courteous and say hello."_

_"Well that's...nice of you. Since you said it you can go now."_

_"We will. Got work to do. But hey that's a nice looking car you got mate. I being thinking of upgrading my car, me. You should see the miles it has. Must be a new record. How's this run for you?"_

_"It's fine I guess it gets me where I need to go."_

_"Looks fast. Funny tho seeing how you dress I would have thought you would get a car that stood out you know. But plain gray really?"_

_"You saying I dress weird? I like my cars to be toned down. I don't want to look like a dick driving a yellow corvette or anything."_

_"This your only car then."_

_"Why do you ask?"_

_"No reason. You look like you would collect them."_

_"No just this one. And if I ever go on business trips there are rentals."_

_"Oh right. Anyway I'll let you get off. Cheryl said she was waiting for you to get back."_

_"Yeah. She's a good sister. Always has my back. So have a good day DI Hay and DI Carter. I hope you find what it is you're looking for."_

_"What makes you think we're looking for something?"_

_"I'm not stupid. You make think you're clever kid but you're not. You don't talk to me unless you're investigating something. Let's be clear, word travels pretty fast around here. Have a good day mate. Have fun looking for that car yeah." _Brendan gives them both a wolfish smile and then within a second he is back to being a blank canvas. Brendan heads up the stairs and enters his club.

_"He creeps me out."_ Doug finally speaks.

Ste opens his notepad and writes down **'BRENDAN BRADY'** in capital letters and underlines it 3 times.

_"Alrighty let's get a move on."_

* * *

They spend hours upon hours searching for any car that might resemble the description and find nothing. They go through parking lots and still nothing. There are tons of black cars but they don't come close to the color they are looking for.

_"The guy isn't stupid he probably got rid of it already or is storing it somewhere."_

_"Yeah this was a long shot Doug. Guess lets go back to the station and hope they have something new."_

Ste takes the lead this time as he pulls out a granola bar he had in his pocket. He starts munching away till he's phone goes off. He starts fumbling for it and ends up dropping his phone.

_"Ste! You had that phone for 2 weeks now and you're already gonna bust it."_ Doug picks it up and answers it for him_. "DI Carter."_ Ste keeps on eating looking around for nothing in particular until he hears Doug finish the conversation.

_"Who was it?"_

_"Anne. There's been a body found in the flats down town."_

_"Of course there has. Run."_

* * *

They bolt off in the direction of the scene and when they finally get there Doug leans on the wall to catch his breath while Ste subtly falls over on the ground saying he's tripped on a rock as an excuse. When they come back to life they head into the flat. DI Minniveer is writing something in her notebook when they approach her.

_"Alright Anne. What's up."_

_"Hey Ste. Hi Doug. So murder."_

_"NOOO. And here I thought it was a partay!"_ Ste moves a little to emphasize.

_"How on earth did you become the top DI? It boggles the mind."_

_"Shut up. Ok serious what we got "_

_"24 year old male. Name is Joshua Ridgefield. Nurse. We found his scrubs in the bedroom. Shot at least 5 times close range. There's to much blood to see the exact number of shots tho. We see about 3 stab wounds on the neck. His eyeball was almost cut out. His fingers and toes are cut off, and we haven't found them yet. And as you can see they set him on fire, and then put him out. Don't know the exact time of death. But around 12 hours ago."_

_"That's lovely isn't is?"_

_"STE!"_

_"I'm kidding. Sarcasm."_

_"Anyway there is one bullet wound right on the back of his head. So it was an execution style murder. But we don't know which one of these caused the death."_

_"Violent murder. He must have been hated. Or gotten on someone's bad books. Did you find any bullet shells. Or knife."_

_"We got some bullet casings. I think the knife used was just one of the victims kitchen knife and there's 2 missing from the knife stand there, so the murderers most have took them. We also collected the empty match case that they left behind."_

_"Wait wait. You said murderers. As in plural."_

_"Yeah sorry Ste but I think you got at least 2 people here."_

_"Fucking serious. So now were dealing with two murderers. Does this match up to the murder in the park?"_

_"Has similarities. Remember they cut her fingers off as well. But this victim isn't posed. So may just be a coincidence."_

_"Great so I might be looking for 3 killers. I wish he would just kill me sometimes. Look was there anything else found. Drugs, notes, money?"_

_"Nope. Oh and hey there was no forced entry so he knew his killer. The techs are still looking around the flat for any evidence."_

The three of them ended up splitting up and looking around at areas that they were allowed to go into. Ste went into the bedroom and looked around. There was blood everywhere. On the bed. On the walls. The floors. It's like the room was painted all red. Hair was stuck on the floor. Glass was lying around from broken vases. It was a struggle to the death. Ste wondered if maybe the victim was able to hurt the killer and maybe their blood was somewhere around here. Or maybe he had their blood under his fingernails. He got excited until he realized that the victim didn't have his fingers anymore. The tech woke him up from his train of thought.

_"DI Hay got something."_ He held up a note with his gloves that was tucked in a drawer in between a journal.

_"Thanks. Let me look at it real quick."_ Ste grabbed it with his own hands covered in gloves and read on.

_'Storage 101. 6AM'_

Well that didn't help much. Only thing it told him was he was alive at 6 AM. Ste handed it back to the tech and went back to the living room.

_"Hey Anne who called this in?"_

_"Anonymous caller. No one was even around when we got here. Only a couple of the neighbors came out. Officers asked a few questions and didn't get much from them."_

_"Doug we might have to speak to them see if they seen anything strange recently. Oh wait Anne you know of any storage units around here. It'll have to be a big place, housing maybe 150 units or so."_

_"Hmm. Only one nearby is about an hour and a half away. I can give you the directions."_

_"That will be great. Ta."_

Anne stepped outside to clean up and get her phone to find the address.

_"Why you looking for storage units Ste?"_

_"Tech found a note in the bedroom. The victim here was to be at storage unit 101 at 6 AM today so we need to find this unit and see if anything is inside."_

_"Maybe it was just a meet up."_

_"Eh maybe but I want to see if there was cameras there or not. Maybe catch the killer on tape."_

_"You think the person that he may have met there followed him here and killed him."_

_"Maybe. Maybe not. But don't have anything to go on until they take the body and examine it more thoroughly."_

As soon as Anne stepped in Ste stopped talking.

_"Here ya go Ste directions. Why you need them anyway?"_

_"I'm planning to store my brand new stereo system in there and have a storage party all night long. Woop woop!"_

_"You're impossible you know that right. How do you put up with him Doug?"_

_"You just block him out really."_

_"Shud up you two. Thanks Anne we have to go tho. We are still investigating the hit and run case from last night. Call me if you find anything else. Thanks again."_

_"You're welcome. Both of you watch yourselves out there ok. Be safe."_

_"You too." _Ste waves and they remove all the protection they were wearing and clean up before they step outside the flat.

_"So Ste why didn't you tell her why you needed the storage address. She's gonna find out anyway"_

_"No she won't. She doesn't have access to the evidence after its been collected. And it's already in the van being taken away"_

_"Ok but you didn't answer my first question."_

_"You talk too much Doug. Someone needs to shut you up. I'll give you a word of advice of what someone taught me years ago before I even became a cop. Never give out to much information to people you think you know. Because those people you think you know might end up being the complete opposite of what you knew. Be aware Doug. Watch for clues. Because you might not notice it at that exact moment but there are clues people drop to their true self. You just gotta pick up on it."_ Ste looks around the flats one more time and shrugs his shoulders. Ste looks back over to Doug who still looks confused so he adds on. _"That and you don't know who is friends with who around here. Can't have things going all over town right."_ Ste pats Doug on the shoulder and starts walking away in the direction of the station. Doug stares at him as he casually strides down the street.

_"Right."_

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**What did y'all think? Too long? Too much dialogue? Let me know. Review. Thanks =)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks to the lovely readers. And to the reviewers...THANK YOUUU! Enjoy.**

* * *

It's a dark cold night out. The strong wind is like blades cutting at your face. Trees are swaying back and forth. If you look closely they resemble monsters that you were told about growing up. It's pretty quiet besides a couple of hoot hoot from the owls. And then there is one loud noise that comes through.

_"Doug! We're in luck. That storage unit is opened 24 hours a day! Gonna be a fun night!"_

_"Nooooooooooo. Can't we just go in the morning. We won't even be able to see anything. Come on Ste it's just about to be 10 at night."_

_"Thats why they invented flashlights yank. Besides you're the one always going off telling __**ME**__ I don't put enough time in. Look you can go home if you want I'll get someone else to come with me. I'm tired of your whining anyway."_

_"I'm not whining. Let's just go then. Get this over with"_

_"Love your enthusiasm Doug its refreshing."_ Ste rolls his eyes and walks over to his car. _"Hurry up will you!"_

* * *

The car ride is awkward and tense, with no one saying anything. Ste puts on the radio and turns up the volume to full blast. Doug starts yelling about it being too loud so Ste turns the volume up even more. They finally arrive at the storage units' right before midnight.

_"Alrighty lets go see where that unit is first then we can go find a manager see if they have any video surveillance."_

_"WHAT? I can't hear a damn thing Ste! Thanks for that."_

_"Oh shut up I can hear fine."_

Ste starts whistling while looking for Unit 101. Doug falls behind a little often saying _"WHAT?! DID YOU SAY SOMETHING STE?"_

After countless amounts of dead ends and wrong turns they find it. Plain old storage unit. Nothing is different about it, and nothing is out of place. They inspect it more closely looking for any type of clues, blood,drugs,notes, but they don't find anything. Ste silently curses to himself and walks all the way back to the beginning to go find a manager. They both walked into the office arguing with each other until a woman interrupts them.

_"Erm hello. Do y'all need any help?"_

_"Hiya. Sorry about that. Umm yeah I'm DI Hay and this is DI Carter." _He hands over his badge for her to check._ "We are working on a serious crime that occurred in the early morning and we have reason to believe the victim visited here before the crime happened. I was just wondering if this place has video cameras around and if maybe we could look through them."_

_"We do have a couple of cameras here. Which unit are you looking for?"_

_"101."_

_"We don't have one specifically set on that one but you might be able to see the side of it using the one that's near it."_

_"That works. Ta."_

She leads them over to a back office and pulls up the recording on the screen.

_"So which one do you need?"_

_"Umm Friday recording around 5 AM or 6AM."_

_"There ya go. This video starts from 2AM so you're just going to have to go through it too find it. I have to go back up front, but if you need anything else just let me know."_

_"Thanks. We'll try not to take too long."_

They spend a couple minutes forwarding the video to the right time. Then suddenly they see the victim.

_"Wait wait Ste there he is. You can see him perfectly."_

_"It says it was 5:57 AM so whoever he was meeting should be popping up anytime now. Hopefully we see something."_

After waiting a bit more they see the victim tense up and look over his shoulder. He then moved forward a little almost taking him off the screen. He looks like he is talking to someone but the other person doesn't come on the shot. Time passes and the victim moves back as if he is leaving and then suddenly turns around. The other person must have called him back. That's when a hand comes in the shot and gives something to the victim and then they both disappear.

_"Go back and pause it when the hand comes on."_

_"You see anything we can use Ste?"_

_"He's wearing a long sleeved black shirt and those are rare."_

_"HA. HA. It looks like he has a watch on."_

_"Oh yeah you're right. Looks like a black leather watch huh? You can't really see the make or anything tho."_

_"No but let's take this back and see if the lab can zoom in on it."_

Ste and Doug say thank you to the manager as she gives them the tape they need. They drive back to the station and drop off the evidence.

_"You're off for the weekend right Doug?"_

_"Yeah but if you need back up or anything just give me a call."_

_"Nah enjoy the weekend. See you Monday."_

_"Yep. Anyway be careful you know what kind of psychos we have roaming around here. Have a goodnight."_

_"Oh don't worry I'm sure I'll be fine. Night."_

* * *

Saturday afternoons are just plain boring. At least that's how Ste feels at this moment. He's on desk duty today waiting on word from the lab to tell him anything new about either case. Without anything else he has nothing to go on. So here he is doing paperwork while he takes a break from going through the small amount of evidence he does have. Ste rest his head on his desk and slowly starts falling asleep. The next second his office door comes flying open surprising Ste, causing him to nearly fall off his seat.

_"Oh bloody hell! What! What!"_

_"Calm down Ste. Geez someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."_

_"What do you want Anne?"_

_"Can you interview someone right now? We're a little backed up and I just been called by Simon to go help him on a case. Just leaves you and this new guy. Rather you take it. Please?"_

_"I don't feel like interviewing no one. I'm sure the rookie will do fine."_

_"Come on Ste. You lost your passion for this job."_

_"I haven't! I'm just tired."_

_"Fine whatever I'll just let the new guy deal with Brendan."_

_"Wait wait, Brendan Brady? What's he in for?"_

_"Assault and possession of drugs with intent to sell."_

_"He was found with drugs?"_

_"No he's never caught with anything but we all know he's one of the big drug dealers."_

_"Give me the case file. I'll do it."_

_"Thanks. He's in interview room 1."_

* * *

Ste opens up the file and reads it real quick while he heads down to the interview room.

**Case #111759**

**Victim**: John Paul McQueen

**Suspect**: Brendan Brady

**Place of Incident**: Chez Chez

**Witness statement**- _"I was standing outside Chez Chez making a phone call when I heard two people arguing. I looked over and saw that McQueen fellow moving his arms frantically while the mustache guy stood there with his arms crossed. Then the McQueen stepped up and pushed the tall guy but he didn't stumble much. He then took a swing and missed. That's when the mustache tall guy threw his own punch and hit the McQueen guy right in the face. He fell straight to the floor and the tall guy just kept going and going till all I could see was blood going everywhere. A woman came out screaming shouting at him to stop and he did. That's when the cops showed up."_

There was more to it but Ste was done reading. He didn't care. To him it was self-defense and he doubted that John Paul would press charges because he initiated it. He had other intentions for this interview. Yes he would ask about the incident but he was going for a bigger prize.

As soon as he walked in he saw Brendan casually sitting there. His hair was perfectly spiked up. He was wearing a dark red shirt with a few buttons left unbuttoned at the top. Below it he had a white Tshirt on. He clearly was working at the time because he had on his black slim fit suit trousers. His suit jacket was nowhere to be seen tho. If he wasn't so much of a psycho Ste would have said he looked fucking hot. Brendan looked at Ste and instantly looked irritated.

_"Great you again."_

_"Nice to see you too Brendan. How's your day been?"_

"_Fan-fucking-tastic! And yours?"_

_"It's been good. That's for asking."_

_"Can we get on with this I have other things to do today."_

_"Ah come on Brendan you're hurting my feelings here, it feels like you don't like talking to me."_

Brendan tilts his head to one side and glances at Ste. _"You flirting with me Steven?"_

_"Hardly."_

_"Right."_ He didn't sound convinced.

_"Ok so what happened? Witness said you beat John Paul to a pulp."_

_"You could say that. But if he hadn't thrown a punch FIRST I wouldn't have had to hit him."_

_"So you're claiming self-defense."_

_"Yep."_

_"You seem to have a violent temper . I see your record and you have quite a lot of assault charges."_

_"Yeah but if you did your homework better you would see I was never found guilty of any one them."_

_"Doesn't mean you didn't commit them, just means there was t enough evidence."_

_"What are you implying Steven?"_

_"That when someone crosses you you don't have a problem dealing with them. Do you know the meaning of remorse Mr. Brady "_

_"I do."_

_"And do you have any?"_

_"Can quite easily say I don't."_

_"Really? Not even an ounce of it."_

_"People only have remorse when they done something worth being remorseful for."_

_"And you haven't? Not once in your life."_

_"Maybe when I was a kid but who doesn't. But recently no."_

_"Mr. Brady where were you on Thursday around midnight?"_

_"You mean Friday then?"_

_"Answer the question."_

_"I was at the club."_

_"Really?"_

_"Wait no sorry I was at the club in the morning doing a delivery but I had the day off so I was home."_

_"Any alibis to back you up on that."_

_"No do you always have alibis when you are home?"_

_"Don't need any alibis when I haven't done anything wrong."_

_"Neither have I."_

_"Course you haven't. So why weren't you at work on Friday morning? It was your shift but Cheryl had to cover for you. She told me you usually don't miss your shifts."_

_"I was busy."_

_"With what?"_

_"Does it matter?"_

_"Yes. So what were you doing that causes you to ask her to cover. Over slept? Weren't feeling well?"_

_"Business meeting. You know what those are right."_

_"Can you give me the names and numbers to who were at these meetings?"_

_"I don't need to Steven."_

_"Right right."_

_"Just cut to the chase Steven and tell me why you're asking all these questions. Cause clearly they have nothing to do with the actual case. You think I had something to do with that murder don't you?"_

_"How did you know about that?"_

_"I told you already word travels fast and you can't really keep it a secret that someone was killed in the village."_

_"You know anything about it?"_

_"Nope just what everyone else knows."_

Brendan moves on the chair to get comfortable as he does this Ste looks around and then looks down. Something catches his eye.

_"You like the color black Brendan?"_

_"What?"_

_"You like the color black?"_

_"I guess."_

_"Couldn't help but noticing your black watch there."_

_"What's wrong with you? What about it?"_

_"Let's try this again Brendan and stop lying to me. Why did you do it?"_

_"Do what?"_

_"Why did you kill him?"_

* * *

**Not the best one in my opinion but give me a chance it's going somewhere. Please review =)**


	4. Chapter 4

_"Why did you kill him?"_

Brendan's expression suddenly turns cold. He quickly gets up from his seat causing the chair to tip over.

_"You think I killed him!"_

_"Sit back down Brendan."_

_"Don't tell me what the fuck to do! You just called me a fucking murderer!"_

_"See now you're just overreacting. It was a simple question. Calm down."_ Ste just stares at Brendan nonchalantly and sees the vein in Brendan's neck look like it's about to explode. Ste keeps his composure and doesn't dare show that at this very second he is frightened that he may have pushed it too far.

_"Calm down? You calm the hell down!"_ Brendan slams his hands on the desk causing it to move and make Ste stand up from his spot.

_"Brendan! Stop!"_ Ste tries to move back but before he gets a chance Brendan has grabbed Ste by the collar and drags him over the desk till they are face to face.

_"Ask me again Steven?"_

Ste looks into the eyes of Brendan and instead of the piercing blue eyes staring back at him he sees pure black eyes instead. Ste tries to remove himself from Brendan's grasp but the more he moves the tighter the grip gets.

_"Get your hands off me freak!"_

Brendan pushes Ste back as he lets him go. He picks up his chair from the floor and sits back down. Brendan just keeps his focus on the ground and doesn't look up. It's quiet in the interview room for minutes as Ste stands there frozen. Brendan clears his throat and Ste jumps and moves to exit the room.

_"Aww Steven are we done here?"_ Brendan is mocking him and clearly it's amusing him. Ste doesn't answer him back as he rushes out and slams the door behind him. Ste dashes to the restroom and bumps into DI Walker on his way.

_"Slow down Ste you alright?"_

_"Just a little lightheaded. Can you actually finish up on the suspect in interview 1. Anne must have filled you in on it."_

_"About Brendan? Yeah she mentioned the basics. No problem I'll do it. I know he's a bit of a loon."_

_"That's an understatement. Thanks Simon."_ Ste gets into the restroom and splashes water on his face. He stares at his neck and right below it he notices a red mark. Apparently in that little shuffle Brendan must have applied to much pressure on his neck. Ste starts thinking back to a few minutes ago and instead of fear running through his veins he now feels infuriated. He goes flying through the restroom door and heads straight into the interview room. Walker is leaning on the wall while Brendan is still sitting down with his legs on the table. Ste walks over and pushes Brendan's legs off the table.

_"Look who's back. I was starting to miss you."_ Brendan quietly laughs to himself and stands up_. "Can I help you?"_

_"Yeah I'm arresting you for assault on a police officer."_

_"No you're not."_

_"Yes I am. You left a huge red mark on me when you tried chocking me."_

Walker suddenly looks interested as he moves over to them.

_"Wait what. You didn't say he did anything Ste?"_

_"Yeah he pulled me across this table and wouldn't let go."_

_"I let you go immediately!"_

_"After you grabbed me! You're not even supposed to touch me! I asked you one question and you explode and you want to know why I may have thought you had something to do with that murder. You're insane!"_

_"I didn't have anything to do with that! You have nothing on me. If I called you a murderer you wouldn't get slightly mad?"_

_"I wouldn't attack anyone!"_

_"Whatever just get on with it then. Read me the damn rights."_ Brendan sits back down as Ste walks out. _"And I want my lawyer Steven. Good boy."_

After hours of paperwork and getting statements from everyone, Brendan ends up getting released with a basically a slap on the hand. Ste goes outside as he sees Brendan walking out of the station. His lawyer hands him his suit jacket and he notices Brendan laughs at something he says. Ste can't help but think to himself that he has an amazing laugh. Ste shakes his head to get that thought out of his head. Brendan and his lawyer walk over to a parked black car and get in. The car speeds away with tires burning through the pavement.

* * *

Ste was technically off on Sunday but he sits at home going over the recent cases. Anne and Walker come over a little bit after he started. He has the hit and run and murder in the flat memorized like the back of his hand. But he decides to go through the murder of the woman in the park. It happened about 2 weeks prior to the hit and run. He reads over the case and the only thing that he keeps repeating is that the body was posed after her death. She was killed in the park and dragged to a nearby bench. One person could easily have done it. Her throat was cut right down the center and her fingers were chopped off as well.

_"You think that maybe these 2 girls were connected to each other Ste?_

_"Maybe. Remember that picture of the girls diary? Do we have that?"_

Walker goes through a couple pictures and finds the one Ste was looking for. _"Here ya go."_

_"Thanks. Doesn't this diary seem similar to the one we found in the home of the hit and run victim."_

_"Yeah kinda but I don't think hot pink diaries are uncommon to girls around their ages."_

_"True Anne but it's strange that both of these girls end up with basically the same exact diaries. Maybe they are friends and they both went together and bought matching sets."_

Walker stares at him and raises his eyebrow. _"I don't get it."_

_"Well if we can connect these two then maybe we can figure out why people wanted them both dead. It may lead us into what a motive someone could have."_

_"Omg Ste Ste. Station now."_

_"Something click in your head Anne?"_ Ste says as Walker then mumbles _"that would be a first."_

_"I hate you two. But no really come on guys I remember something that the girl wrote in the diary."_

_"Oh come on it's my day off."_

_"You weren't even enjoying it. Let's go."_

Ste reluctantly gets up and follows Anne and Walker to the station.

* * *

_"Ok so start."_

Anne smiles brightly at them and opens the hit and run victim's diary and flips through a couple pages.

_"Here we go. Look. So she writes that her friend who spends most of the nights at her flat was acting a bit paranoid a couple weeks before her death. She goes on to say that she was acting suspicious and taking random calls at night and would actually leave the flat and take the calls outside."_

_"So?"_

_"Follow along. So a couple days later she writes that she was supposed to go out and that her friend was gonna spend the night. But she got sick and ended up staying home. She fell asleep and heard the door open couple hours later and knew it was her friend so she just stayed in bed. Later she hears a knock on the door and the friend runs to the door and opens it. She hears a bit of a confrontation so she moves closer to her bedroom door and tries to make out what's happening. She hears bits and pieces but she hears quite clearly that it is a man. That man asks her where his money is and that she better not be trying to cross him. The friend apologizes and mumbles something that she can't hear. Then the man yells at her that she better have his money within the coming weeks or she is gonna regret getting involved with him. She finally writes that as she hears the guy moving away he tells the friend that she better figure something out or her and anyone she knows weren't safe. Then the door slams closed."_

Ste looks over at Walker who clearly looked lost from the start and decides he should speak first.

_"So I'm assuming that you're thinking the girl in the park was the friend who would spend most nights at the hit and runs flat?"_

_"Precisely. And I think its drug related. I mean what else could it be. The man clearly wanted the money for the drugs that he most likely gave her."_

_"Right, but how would he know they were friends. And why even kill her."_

_"He probably just saw them together and maybe thought that she would talk and tell her everything so he decided to get rid of them both."_

_"So a drug dealer that is also a murderer?"_

_"Yeah and the recent murder with the guy we are assuming that's drug related as well right? It all has to be connected. We just gotta get deep into this drug scene and find the main source."_

_"And how do you exactly think we do that. Send an undercover. There not stupid."_

_"Not the main guys but the runts, the bottom of the barrel ones, they will probably talk."_

_"Alright well I'll get Doug to work on that tomorrow. But for now my head is pounding I'm gonna go back home and try to get some sleep."_

_"Alright mate have a good one I think me and Anne are gonna stay here a little while longer see if we can put anything else together."_

Ste grabs his jacket and leaves the station. He doesn't know how he ended up spending hours there talking about a diary because now it's dark outside. He speeds up a little as he doesn't really want to be outside right now. As he is walking he realizes he has to pass Chez Chez and internally he wishes that he won't see Brendan. He can't be that unlucky that Brendan will outside. Of course Ste is known to be very unlucky and as he approaches the club he sees him. But for once he catches a break because he sees Cheryl is out there with him. He can make out they are arguing with each other. Cheryl is pacing back and forth and calling him an idiot as she yells at him over and over. Ste decides to slow down a bit so he can watch some more. The side door comes flying open and Warren comes out and starts telling them to shut up and that he will fix it. Cheryl glances at both of them and pushes past Warren as she enters the club and slams the door shut. Warren walks over to Brendan and they begin to talk. Ste suddenly realizes he is in the middle of the road not even trying to hide the fact he is staring straight at them. Brendan finally looks over at him and smiles at him. It sends a cold chill down Stes spine. Brendan nods to Warren and they both walk back inside. Ste releases the breath he didn't know he was holding and begins walking again. He makes it to his flat and collapses onto his sofa. He turns on the tv and flips through a couple channels. Nothing to watch really so he ends up leaving it on a murder show. Obviously. He relaxes and slowly starts slipping into sleep. _Beep. Beep_. His phone blinks and he reaches over to read his text message. He smiles to himself as he reads it and places the phone back down. _"Good boy"_ Ste quietly says as he drifts off to sleep.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Review please? Makes me keep updating all my other fics =)**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Yep I'm basically updating all my fics in order =)**

* * *

Ste groans as he rolls completely off the sofa onto the tiled floor. He stretches out and gets his bearings together as he realizes its Monday morning. 8 AM sharp. A start to another week. Not like he even gets any days off so the weeks end up morphed together most of the times. Ste grabs his phone to check for any calls or texts. He has one missed call from an unknown number and 4 texts. 2 are from Cheryl asking him to come to the club to visit. The other 2 are from Anne and they appear to be drunk texts because they make no sense. He gets off the floor and text Doug to meet him at the station at noon. Ste gets ready and decides to head over to see Cheryl before he goes to work.

_"Hiya! Missed ya."_

_"Hi love! Glad you came! Missed my munchin."_

_"Oh don't tell me that's me new nickname?"_

_"Don't like it?"_

_"Nope."_

_"Fine I'll stick with plain old Ste then."_ Cheryl gives him a huge smile and makes him a drink. They end up just babbling about random things. Ste sees Cheryl tense up for a second and stare past him. He turns around and notices Brendan walking up the stairs. He doesn't say anything just walks into the office and closes the door.

_"You ok Cheryl?"_

_"What? Yeah yeah sorry I'm fine."_

_"You sure?"_

_"Yep. Give me a second love. Be right back. Don't move."_ Cheryl walks into the office and stays in there for about 10 minutes before she reappears. Obviously not happy as she literally slams the door closed.

_"Something wrong?"_

_"No just my brother can be impossible to talk to sometimes."_

Ste then remembers what he saw last night and decides to ask about it. It couldn't hurt.

_"Hey chez yesterday I was walking home and passed by here and couldn't help but see you and Brendan arguing outside. What was that about?"_ Ste registers how Cheryl seems to look at everything besides him. He sees her cheek twitch a little.

_"Oh that it was nothing. He messed up on the order. We ended up getting stuck with like 20 bottles of coconut flavored rum and 2 bottles of vodka. You try selling Caribbean flavored rum and you would know why I was beyond pissed off at him."_

Ste doesn't fail to notice that there are bottles upon bottles of vodka on the shelf and more in a crate on the floor. There is also not one bottle of this coconut rum. Ste doesn't question her tho just puts it aside for later.

_"Oh was that it? Cause I saw Warren walk out and it looked like all 3 of y'all were about to get into a fight."_

_"Ste you're not on the clock so stop questioning me love."_ Her phone starts to ring and she excuses herself as she moves a little to the side of the bar still in distance to hear.

Brendan walks out of the office at that moment and makes his way over to the bar. Ste tries to down his drink in one gulp to get out of there but ends up almost choking on it. He starts coughing repeatedly and his eyes start to water. Brendan laughs briefly and then pats his back until he stops coughing.

_"How do you manage to choke on a drink?"_

_"I was trying to finish it so quickly that it went down the wrong pipe."_

_"Why were you rushing out? You seemed to be settling in before I came here."_

_"That's exactly why I'm rushing out. You!"_ Ste looks over at Cheryl and makes sure to note that's she's still paying attention.

_"Oh get over it Steven."_

_"So if I dragged you across the table and chocked you, you would get over it that easily."_

Ste notices that Brendan parts his lips and licks his bottom lip. His eyes are half open to the point that he looks like he is high on something.

_"I wouldn't mind you dragging me across the table Steven. In fact I wouldn't mind you doing anything to me." _As he says this Ste feels Brendan's hand on his thigh. Ste jumps up from the stool and backs away.

_"What the hell are you doing?"_

_"What do you think genius?"_ Sarcasm pouring out of him.

_"I can't be associated with you. I'm a cop. And you're a-"_

_"I'm a what? Finish your damn sentence!"_

_"Oh now you're angry. AGAIN. What's new there huh?"_

_"Get out."_

_"My pleasure."_ Ste stomps all the way down the stairs and walks out. He takes out his phone and still no text from Doug. That's odd he thinks. Ste assumes he is already at the station probably waiting for him so he speeds up his pace. When he walks in he goes straight to his office. No one is there so he calls Doug and gets his voicemail.

_"Doug it's Ste I'm at the station, you're supposed to be here already so just give me a call when you get this."_ Ste hangs up and goes downstairs.

_"Anne you seen Doug anywhere? He's not picking up his phone."_

_"Nope I been here all morning and haven't seen him."_

_"Alright ta. I guess im just gonna have to do his job and go see if I can get one of those drug dealers to talk. Can you call me if he comes in tho."_

_"No problem. Be careful."_

* * *

Ste spends the next couple of hours tracking down the lowest ranked drug dealers but they all refuse to tell him anything. He is about to go down another alley to speak to another guy but his phone stars to ring. Unknown call.

_"Hello. Hello?"_ There's silence on the other end of the line. Ste hangs up and notices he is close to Doug's flat so he might as well go see why he decided to skip work. Ste knocks and knocks on the door but hears nothing. He walks over to the side where the window is at but he doesn't see anything.

_"Doug come on! Open up. I really don't want to break into your flat."_ Again nothing. No footsteps or any sign indicating that someone is in there_. "Fine I'm coming in! Last chance to open your door!"_ Ste waits a few seconds and when no one responds he starts working on the door. He opens it quite easily and walks in. Ste turns on the lights and notices an odd smell. _"Doug? You here buddy?"_ He walks into the bedroom and sees things thrown all over the place and blood in the floor. Ste then slowly walks to the bathroom and hesitates before he opens the door. When it opens he couldn't have prepared himself for what he saw. In the bathtub filled with ice, fully dressed, lies the torso of Doug. On the floor lies the remaining parts. Ste rushes out of the flat and throws up violently. He takes out his phone with his shaky hands and struggles to operate it.

_"This is...Ste Hay. I mean DI Ste...DI Hay. I need...umm the investigating team over here. There's been another murder."_

_"Address? And do you happen to know the name of the victim."_

Stes mind goes blank and just gives them land marks on how to find it. _"And the victim's name is Doug Carter. DI Carter."_

* * *

_"Oh my god Ste! Ste! It can't be true."_ Anne is running like a lunatic bumping into everyone in her way not giving a damn about anything. She comes barreling at him and has to use him as a wall to stop herself. She looks frantic. _"When? How? I don't understand."_

_"Where's Walker?"_

_"Answer my question!"_

_"I don't know! I came to look for him thinking he was just missing work because he was tired and then I found him. He's-"_

_"He's dead."_

_"Yeah. Look they already took the body parts away. I wanna take a brief look inside and then head back to see what they found out examining the body. Do you want to go in there with me?"_

_"Lead the way."_

Ste enters the flat again with Anne and she goes through the living room while Ste goes to the bedroom. He puts on his gloves and starts opening a couple of drawers. Nothing out of the ordinary. He sees a trail of blood from the floor all the way to the bathroom. He must have been dragged after he was killed. He finds his wallet and all the cash is gone, so are the credit cards. The driver's license is different though. It's the only thing left in the wallet and it's covered with blood. Ste bags it and gives it to the tech.

_"You find anything Anne."_ Ste seats down on the sofa without even thinking about it. _"Oh god! What am I doing?!"_ Ste jumps up from his seat and sees Anne actually smile for the first time that day. _"Just a force of habit."_

_"I know I was about to grab a glass and pour myself some soda just now."_

_"That's well weird innt."_ Ste awkwardly tries to find someplace to stand and just picks the kitchen counter to lean on. _"So anything?"_

_"Found some small bags. You know those little bags that have coke or pills in em."_

_"Here? There's no way. Doug didn't use drugs."_

_"They were in one of the drawers. Nothing was in the bag though. Well maybe he was and we didn't know. Besides we only worked with him for what a year or so."_

_"Yeah but I'm saying there not his until I'm proven wrong."_

_"Well let's just wait and see if they find fingerprints on it. I think we're done right?"_

_"Yeah I'm going to the station. You coming?"_

_"No was off the clock like an hour ago I'm just going to go home and sleep. Starting to get a headache."_ Anne bumps into the side of a table and falls on the floor.

_"You clutz. Even with flat shoes you manage to fall over."_

_"Fuck off! Help me up!"_

Ste helps her up and sees her phone fell out so he goes to pick it up.

_"Here ya go."_

_"Thanks."_

As Ste hands it over he sees it light up indicating a new text and before he can get a good look at the message Anne has already taken it out of his phone.

_"Ok now I'm leaving without making a fool of myself. See you tomorrow."_ She walks out giving each tech a small bye.

Ste stands in the middle of the room and his mind replays the image over and over again. He may have only gotten a quick glance at Annes phone but he couldn't help but notice that the name that flashed on the screen looked like it said _"Brendan."_

* * *

Ste is walking through the village making his way back to the station and he starts thinking to himself that he has to find a different path to take. Because this path crosses by his favorite and worst place, Chez Chez. It's impossible to miss this place seeing as it's in the middle of the Main Street. There really is no way to avoid it unless you take a different route that ends up adding about an hour into your commute. It's around 6 PM now and the club doors are open. Ste finds that strange as they are never wide open like that.

_"Ugh just keep walking Ste. Ignore it."_ But his feet think otherwise as they start moving towards the club. He peeks his head inside and hears a lot of movement upstairs. He figures its fine but he would feel completely guilty if something was happening and he ignored it. For all he knows Cheryl could be up there fighting for her life. So he runs up the stairs in record speed. When he gets upstairs he just sees Brendan unloading a couple crates. And not gently mind you.

_"Can I help you?"_ Brendan doesn't even turn around as he speaks.

_"Umm sorry saw the doors open wanted to make sure Cheryl was fine."_

_"She's in the cellar taking inventory if you wanna go talk to her."_

_"No that's ok. You want me to close the door?"_

_"No got more deliveries coming in so makes it easier on the delivery people to just come in."_

_"Yeah but any nut case can come in."_

_"Or one in particular right. I'm sure I'll be fine."_

_"Yes you will. Anyway I'll leave you to it."_

_"Yep. Oh Cheryl is throwing this big club night tonight. Starts at midnight. She wanted to invite you but lost her phone so I'm just inviting you on her behalf."_

_"Oh tell her thanks. I'll try to make it if I finish early."_

_"That's fine. See yourself out yeah."_

_"Ok. See ya."_ Ste waits for a goodbye but gets nothing. He steps on the stairs and catches Brendan slouch over a crate and starts to breathe hard.

_"You ok ba-"_ Ste was about to go up to Brendan when Warren walks through the balcony door. Warren glances at them for a second and hands Brendan a note as he goes behind the bar to stock the shelves.

_"I'm fine honestly. Been carrying crates back and forth all day."_

_"Ok well umm yeah I'll see ya."_ Ste goes back to the stairs and looks at Brendan one more time before motioning to his hand. Brendan nods and continues on with his work. Ste casually walks down the street in the direction of the station. All the while whistling a little tune with not a care in the world.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Longest chapter I ever written (took me about 4 days) as I'm hoping to finish this in maybe 3 more chapters. Enjoy.**

* * *

The club is packed and playing music so loud you can't even hear yourself think. Ste pushes his way through the crowd to find Cheryl behind the bar.

_"Yay you made it."_

_"Yeah left work early and thought I pop in for a little. Can't stay long gotta be up in the morning as I got another case to investigate."_

_"I heard. I'm so sorry babe. You going to be ok? My offer still stands remember you could always crash at my place."_

_"I know thanks Chez. You really are the best. I might take you up on that offer though. Maybe. But till then can I get a drink?"_

_"Of course. On the house."_ They both get to talking and drinking. Ste feels a little tipsy after a couple shots and looks at the time to see that he has been here for over an hour. He really needs to get home if he wants to even get a couple hours of sleep.

_"Cheryl! I'm gonna head off! Got an early morning. Thanks for everything."_

_"Don't mention it. You sure you can walk home by yourself love. I can take a quick break and take you."_

_"You're as tipsy as me it wouldn't help. Besides if you walked me then I would have to walk you back here. And then we would be in the exact same situation again."_

_"What?!"_

_"See you're drunk! I'll be fine. Have a good night!"_ Ste hugs her and slowly walks down the stairs while trying to avoid all the punters. He stumbles out the door and has to hold onto the wall to balance himself. His vision is a tad blurry but he just shrugs it off and starts walking. He barely makes it a few steps before he falls over and starts laughing at himself. Ste hears footsteps approach him and when he looks up he sees Brendan staring at him_. "What?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"Can you help me up?"_

_"Why should I?"_

_"Fine. Didn't need your help anyway."_ Ste awkwardly tries getting up but only manages to lean over again. Brendan grabs him before he falls over and puts his arm over his shoulders as he starts walking him to his flat.

_"Lightweight."_

_"Shut up. You know I have a lot on my mind."_

_"Whatever. Just keep your mouth shut yeah."_

They make it to his flat unharmed except for the few bruises Ste is going to have from falling. Ste hands Brendan his keys as he leans on the wall for support. Once he gets it open Brendan grabs Ste and moves him inside. He throws him on the couch and heads over to the kitchen.

_"Here's some water."_

_"Ta."_ Ste gulps it down within seconds and then curls up into a ball on the couch. Brendan goes to his bedroom and gets a blanket then places it on top of Ste. He looks around and spots some of the photographs Ste had left out on the table. He shuffles through all of them and places them back where they were. He drops Stes keys on the floor and quietly exits the flat.

* * *

_"Bloody hell! My head!"_ Ste wakes up in the morning to a pounding headache. Hangover. It's 10 AM and he's already late to work. He gets up and takes some headache tablets and rushes to get ready. He's out the door in 30 minutes. Ste walks through the village with a little more bounce in his step as he doesn't want Anne or Walker going off on him. Cheryl's outside the club sitting on the steps as Warren is pacing back and forth with his arms frantically waving in the air. She spots Ste and makes a fake gun with her fingers and points it at her head. Ste laughs at her bored demeanor and points at his watch letting her know he can't stop to talk. She nods and goes back to listening to Warren. Ste picks up his pace again.

_"About time you got here."_ Anne says in an annoyed voice. _"Look we got something."_

_"Yeah what?"_

_"We found the car in the hit and run case! Can you believe that?"_

_"Wh...the actual car? Really? Umm where was it?"_

_"A junk yard. It was about to be taken apart for the parts and then the body was going to get crushed. Found it right on time. How lucky is that right?"_

_"Yeah yeah terrific."_

_"How come you don't seem excited? This is big! We can hopefully get DNA out of it and it could lead us straight to the killer."_

_"I am excited. It's great. Who found it?"_

_"The rookie of all people."_

_"Wait wait wait, Noah?"_

_"I know right."_

_"Well that's a surprise."_

_"Isn't it? But look you need a new partner and he seems capable so guess what?"_

_"No. No. No." _The door swings open and in walks a man in uniform and stares straight at Ste.

_"Alright mate. Names Noah. I been assigned as your new partner."_

* * *

They head on down to forensics to see if anything was found in the car. As they walk down Ste keeps seeing Noah giving him odd glances here and there, like he's trying to figure out something. Ste starts panicking but holds it together. Pete is waiting for them and lets them know that they swabbed the seats and it'll be a couple hours before they get the results back. No items were found in the car, it looked to be completely washed and bleach was apparently used. Ste just asks to be called when the results are out and leaves. Noah catches up to him but says nothing. Ste can't handle it anymore and decides to break the silence.

_"Ok what's wrong with you? You keep staring at me like I'm crazy or something."_

_"Sorry. I was just thinking."_

_"About what?"_

_"Umm...nothing."_

Ste can't stand him already. Something about him just makes his skin crawl in hatred. _"So you found the car huh? Good work. Did you manage to find anything about it?"_

_"Thanks I went to about 5 different junk yards with hope that I would find it and I actually did. I couldn't believe it! I tried looking for the title of the car or the registration for it but there was no records. Not to mention that the license plates were gone too. I did speak to the owner of the junk yard to see if he remembered who brought it in."_

_"Did he?"_

_"He had a vague recollection of the night."_

_"So?"_ Ste fiddles with his fingernails and pulls out a piece of gum. _"You want one?"_

_"Yeah sure. So anyway I asked the guy and he couldn't remember the exact details but he said it was a man that brought it in. Medium height. He couldn't tell the color of the hair because it was around night time but he said it wasn't a light color, that it was either brown or black. He emphasized that the man was quiet, barely even said anything."_

Ste just nods along the entire time giving a grunt every few seconds to show he's paying attention.

_"Oh and lastly he said that it was 2 people."_

_"What?"_

_"2 people brought it in. The one that handed over the car and the other one that stayed farther back."_

_"How did he see him then?"_

_"How did you know it was 2 guys?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"I said 2 people but only mentioned one of them was a guy."_

_"Oh that. I just figured if the first person was a guy then the other one would be one too. Common sense really. Now you gonna answer my question?"_

_"Oh. Right ok. Anyway he saw him get out of the car at the entrance before the other guy drove the car up front."_

_"How creditable is he?"_

_"He seemed to be telling the truth and nothing made me question his credibility. It was brought in to him Saturday night so it's not like it's been years or anything for him to forget things like this."_

_"Well plenty of people have short term memory. He could have easily confused this cars owner with another completely different car."_

_"So what you don't believe it?"_

_"I'm not saying that. But it's only a statement it's not solid proof. Unless you give me that I'm sticking with its only murderer. I'm done here."_

_"Look I didn't mean to get off on the wrong foot with you. We're basically waiting for the results so how about I buy you a drink. Peace offering?"_

_"Erm...yeah alright. Where ya wanna go?"_

Noah gives him a smirk that makes Ste uneasy. _"Chez Chez?"_

_"Sounds good. But I already get my drinks for free there so-"_ Noah interrupts him before he finishes.

_"You know the owner right?"_

Ste tilts his head to one side as he can't believe someone just blatantly interrupted him and asked him a question that is rather random.

_"I know the owners sisters more like."_

_"Well you must be there a lot so its common sense to assume that you would know Brendan."_ He emphasizes the word 'common sense' almost as if mocking Ste when he said it before.

_"Look have I talked to him before? Sure. Have I shared a laugh with him in the past? Probably. Do I happen to see him in the club when I visit Cheryl? Yeah. But do I know him? Do I know the man he is? No. So stop fucking asking me about him!"_

_"Ok. Sorry. Drink?"_

_"Whatever."_

* * *

They both walk in awkward silence all the way to Chez Chez. It's barely 1 PM when they round the corner of the street. The club is open but since most people only show up after midnight it's pretty empty. There's a few students hanging around outside. Ste follows Noah into the club and he sees the downstairs bar is completely empty. Not one person is down there. He hears footsteps coming down the stairs and looks up to see Cheryl and Brendan walking down.

_"Hiya love. What you doing here in the middle of the day?"_

_"Get fired there Steven?"_ Brendan says as he smiles at him.

_"Hilarious! No waiting on lab results so got some time to kill."_

_"That's...nice. Who's your friend there?"_

_"Huh?"_ Ste completely forgot Noah was there with him until Brendan asked. He's glaring at him as if he's trying to suss him out. _"Oh that's Noah. DI Baxter."_

_"I'm Stes new partner. Nice to meet you two."_ Noah extends his hand and Cheryl happily shakes his hand. Everyone looks over at Brendan who has made no move to greet him. He keeps his hands in his pockets the whole time.

_"I'm alright mate. No thanks."_ Brendan says as he starts chewing his gum more aggressively.

There's a tension in the room and Ste just wishes the murderer would come in here and just take someone out of their misery.

_"So-"_ Cheryl's loud voice echoes through the empty room _"I'm actually heading home for a while so I'll talk to you later love. Nice meeting you Noah." _Ste wants to run after her to avoid dealing with this mess happening here.

_"Well I got work to do. Barman is upstairs if you want a drink."_ Brendan moves past them and grabs a crate from the floor and goes back up the stairs. They both follow him upstairs. There are actually a few people upstairs, surprisingly. It wouldn't be classified as crowded but it was enough where you would easily be surrounded by people at all times. Noah takes a seat and Ste just stays standing as he leans on the counter. They order and Noah goes to pay. Usually Ste gets his drinks free because Cheryl serves it to him but now that she's gone he assumes he has to pay. The barman tells them the cost and it's only for one drink.

_"Did you count his too mate?"_ Noah asks him.

_"Don't worry about his. That one is on the owner."_ Brendan says as he stocks the shelves not even turning around to look at them.

_"Of course it is."_ Noah looks over at Ste and has an unreadable expression.

_"What are you implying...Noah was it?"_ Now Brendan has turned and has his hands in the counter, staring blankly at him.

_"Nothing."_

_"Hmm. Sure. Well have a good day officers."_ He gives them a small smile that has no real emotion to it.

_"Where you going?"_ Ste asks a little too fast.

_"Got crates to move in the cellar. I'm gonna be there for hours. So I'll just see you around...you too I guess."_ He moves from behind the bar and leaves.

Ste and Noah drink in silence, again not saying a word.

_"I gotta go to the toilet. Be back."_ Ste hurriedly goes around a couple people as he tries reaching the restroom. Noah keeps his eyes on him until he loses him in the crowd. After about 10 minutes Ste comes back.

_"Sorry long queue."_

_"No problem mate. How much longer till we get these results?"_

_"Not sure."_ Ste checks his phone again_. "Still haven't heard anything. Sometimes it takes a couple hours. We might not even get the results till tomorrow."_

_"Anything we can do till then?_

_"Not really unless you wanna try talking to some more drug dealers and see if they know anything about these 3 cases as they all seem drug related."_

Noah jumps from his seat full of excitement. _"Yeah let's go!"_

_"Oh no mate I wasn't implying I was gonna go. I already spent a couple hours days ago talking to them and they gave me nothing. They know me around here so they wouldn't talk. It would be better if you want on your own."_

_"Good plan. If I find anything I'll give you a call."_

_"Yeah sounds good. Ill head to the station maybe look over the case files again and give you a ring if Pete ever fucking calls me back."_

_"See ya."_

_"Bye."_ Ste watches as he flamboyantly walks away. He orders another drink not intending to head to the station anytime soon. He gets his phone out and text someone and gets a prompt response back. He moves over to the couch and sits down as he hears the music hit his ears. After about an hour Cheryl comes bouncing up the stairs and gives Ste a hug and goes in the office. Brendan comes back up through the fire escape door and walks over to Ste.

_"You wanna move over Steven?"_

_"I think you missed a word at the end there."_

_"Please?"_

Ste slides over as Brendan collapses on the sofa and sighs.

_"That tired you out?"_

_"Yeah. Not like I had help."_

_"Neither did I."_

_"True but I didn't leave behind anything."_

_"Whatever. I'm fine."_

_"You sure?"_ Brendan asks almost as if he is worried.

_"I think so. As long as you did your part correctly."_

_"When haven't I?"_ Brendan moves over to him close enough that Ste can feel his breath on his face_. "I think-"_ Brendan slowly moves his hand onto Stes thigh _"-me and you-"_ moves it a little bit further up _"-should go-"_ his hand moves all the way up and Stes hips jolt up, he moves his hand to try to cover anyone else seeing this _"-to my office-" _Brendan lightly bites his neck.

_"Umm-"_ Ste takes one of his hands and grabs Brendan's hand and runs his finger over it _"-Cheryl's in there."_

_"Of course she is."_ Brendan stands up and leans down so his face meets Stevens. _"You should go now. Make sure you talk to Cheryl before you leave."_

_"Ok. You should go and-"_

_"Move crates around? I know the drill."_ Ste tries to get up but Brendan pushes his chest and knocks him back onto the sofa. He grabs his wrist and applies pressure to them.

_"Bren that hurts."_

_"I know. Make sure to keep that pretty mouth of yours shut ok. I don't wanna have to do something to you that I'll regret."_

_"I promise...please? It's gonna leave a mark."_ Ste tries to move his hands but he's stuck. Brendan refusing to loosen his grip.

_"Give me a kiss real quick and I'll let you go."_

_"I can't."_

_"You haven't had a problem before."_

_"There are people."_

Brendan releases the grip and grabs Stes lips with his fingers. He slowly licks Stes bottom lip with his tongue. _"Bite it."_ Ste doesn't hesitate and bites Brendans tongue lightly. _"Touch me."_ So he does. _"Bite it harder"_ Ste forcefully bites his tongue till he tastes Brendans blood_. "Good boy. You can go now."_ Brendan moves out of his way as he goes back to the cellar. Ste knocks on the office door and leans in when Cheryl says come in.

_"Hey been here since you left so I'm gonna head back to the station I think."_

_"Aww you should have come to my flat and spent the time there."_

_"Oh dammit I could have!"_

_"Oh love the job is stressing you out so much you can't even think straight. You remind me of Brendan sometimes. Always working."_

_"I'll take my vacation time soon. And yeah kind of similar right? He's been moving those crates all day, kept seeing him going up and down the stairs he looked exhausted."_

_"I'm sure. I'll let him leave early. Anyway you off?"_

_"Yeah ill text you though. Bye."_

_"Bye. Be careful."_

* * *

Ste leaves and heads straight to the station. As he walks in he sees Walker almost asleep on his desk and Anne painting her nails. _"Hard workers here."_

_"Shut up Ste. Not like you're any better. Where's your partner?"_

_"I don't know he left me in the club to go see if he could get anything out of some drug dealers."_

_"That boy is a little too eager."_

_"He should be careful with that. He could end up in the wrong place trying to find things out on his own."_ Walker says sleepily.

_"Words of wisdom from Simon Walker."_

_"Fuck you Ste."_

Ste goes to his desk and casually looks over the cases again. A couple hours pass by and their police radios go off.

_"There's been a body found in an alleyway. Behind Price Slice. Adult male. In his early to mid-20s. Dark skin tone. Neck has been slashed open. Fingers cut off. Stab wounds all over his head and face. Blood everywhere. No signs of bullet wounds."_

The radio keeps going but Ste, Anne, and Walker are already out the door. They weren't lying when they said blood was everywhere. It's literally everywhere. On the ground and walls. Pieces of skin are cut off and on the ground. Ste moves forward as Walker follows. They both lean in to try to examine the face that has been so badly beat and stabbed. Walker squints a little to help his eyes focus. His eyes widen and he jumps back.

_"Oh fuck Ste its Noah. It's Noah."_

Ste looks again and examines the face and body. He moves back quickly as he meets his eyes with his own.

_"Fuck. It is. Move away from the body. It's another murder of a police officer."_

_"Shit Ste you don't think they are now targeting law enforcement do you?"_

_"I don't know. It's looking like it but it doesn't make sense. Unless they just want us to keep our mouths shut. No one goes anywhere without someone with them yeah. I mean it."_

They walk over to Anne and inform her.

_"That's awful. Another one huh? He must have got killed in like the last hour right. When where you with him last Ste?"_

_"After he left the club. So maybe around 2ish or a little earlier."_

_"Well it's only 5 PM so it didn't happen long ago. Let's go look around. Maybe the person still has some form of injury. And we should probably go to the club and see if there's video of the surroundings. Maybe Noah got into an argument as he stepped out."_

_"After you."_ Ste and Walker both say and walk over to the club ready to interrogate.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: So yep I am trying to finish up my fics. Got 2 complete in the weekend and this one should be done by the end of the week as I'm thinking 1 more chapter left. This chapter has tons of dialogue.**

* * *

Anne, Walker, and Ste make their way up the stairs to see Brendan stocking the shelves and Cheryl picking up glasses. Cheryl notices them first and gives a quick glance over to Brendan.

_"What do you all want?"_ Cheryl doesn't hide her annoyance. Brendan hears her and turns around to spot all of them.

_"We just had some questions we wanted to ask. There has just been a murder and its close in proximity to this club. Also the victim was last seen here so we just wanted to see if you could help." _Anne looks at both of them but gives Brendan a friendly smile.

_"Well officers I just got here a little bit ago so I can't be of assistance. You can go now."_

Walker moves forward and decides to handle the situation. _"That's fine. But we would like to speak to Brendan too."_

Cheryl is about to give him more attitude when Brendan stops her and makes his way around the bar and motions for them to take a seat. _"Go ahead then. I don't have all day."_

Anne's phone rings and when she hangs up she whispers to both of them. _"So sorry to do this to you guys but my Riley just called and says the baby is sick. I gotta go home. Are you two going to be ok handling this?"_

Ste nods and Walker smiles at her and tells her he hopes her baby gets better. She excuses herself and tells Brendan bye. She's out the door within seconds. Cheryl just heads back into the office slamming the door on her way in. Ste takes a seat next to Walker but moves all the way to the opposite side of the sofa when he sees Brendan give him a look.

_"Well first Brendan does this club have video surveillance inside or outside the club?"_

_"Yeah there's a camera."_

_"Great I would like to s-"_

_"Sorry mate the cameras have been broken for about a month so there off."_

_"You haven't fixed them for a month? Isn't that important."_

_"Not really. Haven't needed them in years but I was gonna replace them. Soon anyway."_

Walker looks over at Ste who hasn't even talked yet. _"Ok how about what have you been doing today?"_

_"Working. Been up and down bringing crates up here and moving them down there."_

_"So you been here all day?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Any alibis?"_

_"2 actually. Well one since the other is dead." _Brendan gives his a cold smile.

Walker takes some sort of note and continues. _"Can I get the name of the alibi then?"_

_"He's right next to you."_

Ste looks down for a second and then makes eye contact with Walker and nods. _"Yeah remember I told you I stayed after Noah left. I sat here and just relaxed and kept seeing him going up and down those stairs carrying 2 crates at a time."_

_"And you failed to mention this to me why?"_

_"Well you didn't ask me did you. Besides I thought you were just gonna ask about the video camera."_

_"Brendan where was Cheryl earlier in the day?"_

_"Our flat."_

_"Does she have any alibis?"_

_"Really Simon. Lynsey was in the flat so you can confirm it with her."_

Walker faintly says 'damn it' under he's breath. _"Well is anyone that's supposed to be here today not come in."_

Brendan is just about to speak until he sees Stes eyes light up and he looks directly at him. A silent plea. _"Umm...I think Warren was supposed to be here earlier. Hasn't come in yet I guess. Or at least I haven't seen him."_

_"Alright well I think we're done here. Sorry about this and thanks for your time."_

_"Not a problem. Have a good day yeah."_

_"Same to you. Come on Ste."_

_"Wait for me outside I gotta use the restroom real quick."_ Ste notices Walker gives him an exasperated look. _"What? I drank like 3 bottles of water earlier." _He lifts himself up and walks away and looks back to see Walker going down the stairs. At that moment Cheryl walks out of the office and hits Brendan over the head. _"You have better know what you're doing yeah."_

_"I got it Chez. Go."_

Cheryl moves in the direction of the restrooms and Brendan just moves over to the stairs and sees Walker exit the doors. After a few minutes Ste and Cheryl come back and she gives him a huge hug and slips something into his pocket. _"Bye pet."_

_"Bye Cheryl." _Ste leans next to Brendan whose looking down the railings. _"So you get what's gonna happen right."_

_"Yeah kind of figured it out."_

_"Good. I'll call you with the details when I have it figured out." _Ste lightly touches his arm and walks out of there. He doesn't see Walker anywhere around. Ste looks up and sees him walking out from the balcony exit. _"What were you doing up there?"_

_"Oh just...observing."_

_"Eery."_

_"Isn't it? Come on let's head back to the alley. I don't know if they have taken the body in for examination yet."_

They both walk the short distance and Noah's dead body is still there. They stay a distance away as now techs are all over the area.

_"So when did you say you say him last?"_

_"1."_ Ste shakes his head_. "Sorry I think it was 2 can't remember." _

_"Weird that. You would think you would remember when you last saw your partner."_

_"Common mistake. It's like asking someone what they watched last hour. Hell if you remember huh." _Ste shuffles anxiously.

_"Right. How do you know Brendan again?"_

_"Through his sister."_

_"You too close?"_

_"Me and Cheryl? Yeah best friends."_

_"What about you and Brendan?"_

_"Naw more like acquaintances."_

_"That's funny cause you both looked like old buddies up there."_

Ste freezes and realizes Walker made his way back into the club through the balcony doors and must have saw them talking_. "Was just being courteous saying goodbye."_

_"I didn't even hear a goodbye. I did hear something about calling him with details. What was that about?"_

_"Oh nothing. Wanted to go over to Cheryl's and was gonna give him a call to let him know when he would have to leave the flat so it could just be me and her."_

_"Sure sure. Anyway should we go now?"_

_"Yeah."_ Ste follows Walker but he turns and looks up at the balcony to see Brendan standing up there watching them.

* * *

They end up back at Walkers flat and he immediately goes looking for all the recent case files. Ste on the other hand just collapses on the sofa.

_"You're not gonna do anything Ste?"_

_"What like look at those cases for the millionth time? No. I'll just wait for them to call me letting me know that the new case file is ready. Besides there is nothing in there that leads me to anything."_

Walker keeps flicking through all the pages and starts reading about Doug's case. _"Hey Ste you found Doug's body first right?"_

_"Yep."_ Ste comes across as cold so he adds. _"Such a shame. He was a good person."_

_"Yeah good friend of yours too right?"_

_"I guess. We had been partners for about a year."_

_"Yeah. You know he always seemed perceptive. I liked that about him."_

_"You must be talking about another person. Doug was naive like the rest of them."_

_"Them?"_

_"What? Oh nothing." _Ste turns on the tv and switches it to Murder She Wrote.

_"Right. So did you find anything in there with Anne?"_

_"No just some baggies for drugs but they tested them and no fingerprints. Roamed the flat and found nothing else. Anne thinks it was drug related so it connects with the other ones."_

_"Alright how about the case before it. The man in the flat. What was that about?"_

_"Drug deal gone wrong."_

_"Just like that."_

_"Yep."_

_"No evidence."_

_"None."_

_"Really cause I was going through the evidence department yesterday and I couldn't help but find this note. It said storage unit 101. The tech mentioned you saw it but me and Anne had no idea about it."_

_"Oops must have forgot to mention it. Me and Doug went to investigate. Didn't get nothing though. Camera wasn't pointing at the unit."_ Ste raises the volume of the tv and takes out his phone.

_"Ste you must have a forgetful mind today."_

_"What?"_

_"Pete said you two brought in a video showing the victim at that storage unit. He also said that when it was brought in he only saw it once and didn't finish it. When he went back to try and zoom in on it the video had magically disappeared."_

_"Oh yeah Doug brought it in. Sorry must be tired. Pete must have just I don't know misplaced it."_

_"He's never done that before. He also said that when you two brought it in Doug mentioned that there was a tiny bit at the end that he didn't see. And Pete asked him why. Do you have any idea what he said back."_

_"Not a clue."_

_"You stopped it."_

_"I stopped it cause the victim basically left the shot. I saved him the trouble of having to look at the storage unit for any longer."_

_"Good friend you are huh."_

_"One of the best."_ Ste smiles at him over his shoulders and then turns back to watch his show_. "You know I always found it funny how this old lady always figured out these murders." _He chuckles to himself.

_"She can see things other people ignore. So let's go back more...the hit and run. Who found that?"_

_"Random guy heading home."_

_"Doug got there first right?"_

_"Yep he was already on the scene when I pulled up."_

_"Why weren't you there? If I can recall you were working the same shift."_

_"I wasn't with him when they radioed it in."_

_"Where were you then."_

_"I stepped out."_

Walker moves over and sits on a chair to the side of Ste and places the files on the coffee table_. "I get that but where do you go?"_

_"Doesn't matter does it?"_

_"Kind of does."_

_"It's irrelevant Simon."_ Ste now glares at him.

_"Simon is it? Following Brendan's cue aren't you. Although doesn't surprise me as you two seem...close."_

_"HA funny."_ Ste gives him a blank look_. "You gonna continue or are you done ere."_

_"I don't see what the issue is of you telling me where you-"_

_"I was at me flat for fucks sake."_

_"Alibis?"_

_"Yeah cause you usually have alibis when you're home."_

_"Interesting. How did you get to the scene anyway?"_

_"My car."_

_"What kind of car."_

_"Audi. Dark blue. You wanna know the model and year?"_

_"No that's fine. So what did you think happened?"_

_"My first impression was that she was just hit accidentally then we found that diary and it appeared that she was connected to the park murder. And that one we assume is drug related."_

_"Ah great transition. The park murder. You get their first?"_

_"Nope third actually. Anne was first then Doug...then me." _Ste leans back on the sofa_. "See this show isn't very realistic. It's like their asking to be caught. They should plan better don't you think?"_

_"You watch this show a lot huh?"_

_"I watch a lot of murder shows. There...educational."_

_"In what way?"_

_"A lot of ways. So go on."_

_"Yeah so when you got their what did you see."_

_"A dead body."_

_"Right but what else."_

_"She was on a bench. Fingers cut off. I don't remember what else. Wait she was shot also. Actually no that was the guy. Fuck wait who was shot again? Doug was. Yeah mixed them up. I don't recall what else was done to the park girl. Too long ago."_

_"Yeah after a while they all get jumbled together don't they?"_

_"You're telling me."_

_"So how come you were late to that one?"_

_"Was off duty."_

_"Home again were you?"_

_"Ding ding give the man a prize."_

_"Did you ever read a witness statement that was given a few days ago?"_

_"For which case?"_

_"Park."_

_"Didn't know there was a new witness. Came out of nowhere huh."_

_"Yeah well she was scared to come in and didn't know if it was relevant."_

_"So?"_

_"Right so she said she saw a car parked around the corner of where the murder happened. She was doing her late night run and she swore she passed that car over and over again. They asked her describe it. Wanna take a guess on the color?"_

_"Dark blue?"_

_"Mind reader."_

_"Lucky guess. Anything else before we finish this?"_

_"Yeah just one thing. Remember Noah found the car used in the hit and run?"_

_"Yeah. Good detective work."_ Ste pulls out a piece of gum and starts chewing it rapidly. _"Gum? I recently started to acquire packs of these. You wanna take a guess why?"_

_"Wouldn't have a clue."_ Walker moves his chair back a little_. "Anyway so when he found it he actually came and talked to me about it."_

_"Aww he trusted you. That's...cute."_

_"Trusted me more than his new partner. That's saying something."_

_"Saying he's a fool."_

_"Or that he's smart."_

_"If he was smart he wouldn't have gotten himself killed now would he?"_

_"Where's the compassion Ste?"_

Ste laughs at him and starts tapping his fingers on the armchair. _"I'm very compassionate. Poor guy. Really I'm devastated."_

_"Well before he was killed he let me know what that junk yard owner told him."_

_"I already know. He did tell me it as well."_

_"No what he said to you was what I told him to tell you."_

_"So it was made up?"_

_"No. Just left out a few minor details."_

_"Enlighten me then."_ Ste quickly text someone and then drops the phone on the table.

_"So the owner did see two guys drop it off just like he told you. The description of the guy medium height and slim but he did say he had a light brownish hair color. Funny he also said that the man's eyelashes were incredibly long. Oh and when he did speak he had a Mancunian accent. You're from Manchester aren't you?" _Ste nods and motions for him to continue_. "Thought so. Anyway the owner got a glimpse of the other man and I'm sure by now you don't need me to tell you."_ Ste smiles at him. _"Want me to go on? Ok sure. Jet black hair. Tall. Somewhat slim."_

_"Oh wait let me finish it off for you. He had a distinct mustache."_

_"Ding ding ding give the man a prize. Glad you're with me on this. Oh right forgot when the men were leaving the taller one pushed the shorter one and he laughed. The owner never heard a laugh quite like that. He described it as a donkey laugh."_

_"You done?"_

_"Just about except for one small thing you said."_

_"Which was?"_ Ste now looks disinterested as he focuses his eyes on the television.

_"You said Doug was shot."_

_"He was wasn't he?"_

_"No you're right. The only problem with that is when you found him you stated that you couldn't see anything on his torso because it was covered in blood. And well you see me and Anne got the autopsy in the morning confirming that he was indeed shot in the torso. Only thing is you weren't there when we got the report. So I have a question for you. How did you know?"_

_"You know I take back what I said about this show being unrealistic. See every episode starts the same. A person is dead and this old lady goes out trying to find the murderer. Which by the way it's not even her job so she should mind her own damn business. Anyway then you get a person that comes to her and helps her. They tell her about the victim and who may or may not have known them. They literally become her sidekick. So you as a viewer sit there and completely disregard this person. Why? Because you think no murderer would blatantly help the person trying to solve a murder they committed. But then at the end of the show it turns out that person who was there all along helping was the murderer. Then everyone is shocked and asking themselves why would he do that then? Wanna know why? They get a thrill doing it. It excites them. Killing someone and then coming back to the scene of the crime as everyone gasps and starts throwing out scenarios. All the while this person stands there admiring his masterpiece and laughing at the naiveness of everyone else."_

Ste stands up and starts pacing the flat. He makes it to the kitchen where Walker had left his gun. _"Didn't they teach you anything when they trained you. Never be without a gun Walker. That was your third mistake."_

_"What were my first two?"_

_"First you should have minded your own business. But no you just kept on prying and prying till you got something. I think your second mistake was worst. You already had a feeling something was wrong but yet you let me in your flat. You didn't listen to your gut instinct telling you that what you came up with was right all along. Such a shame."_

_"So you did commit all those murders?"_

_"Not exactly. You're on the right path. But you missed a couple points. I killed the girl in the park. Why? Cause I fucking felt like it. I also killed the hit and run girl. Don't know why actually. I saw them talking before I killed her friend and well might as well take them both out. Oh forgot to mention the girl in the park wasn't my first murder. But the Hollyoaks police are just the stupidest people I ever met."_

_"You're sick."_

_"Thank you."_

_"What about the guy in the flat, Doug, Noah?_

_"Not me mate. Had nothing to do with the guy in the flat. Now Doug and Noah that's a different story."_

_"So you did kill them?"_

_"Of course not. I don't have their blood on my hands. I helped. That's all."_

_"So who did?"_

_"You're a smart one. Figure it out."_

_"Brendan."_

_"DING. Motherfucking DING. Give the man a prize."_

_"You have been working together this whole time?"_

_"Nope. I could explain but I'm getting a little bored with this conversation. So how about we just end this."_

_"No no Ste. Please. I promise I won't tell anyone."_

_"Oh stupid stupid Walker do you really think I'm as naive as everyone else. I always told Doug one thing. That he should pick up on the small little hints people throw out as it shows him their true self. He didn't. You on the other hand did, just was a little too late. But hey look at the bright side you can die knowing the identity of the murderer. Or shall I say murderers. Give yourself a clap. No no? Ok I will." _Ste claps for him. Grabs the gun and points it at him.

_"You'll never get away with this Ste. How are you going to explain 3 cops being murdered huh."_

_"Don't worry I'm sure I'll figure it out. Any last words?"_

_"I hope you and Brendan rot in hell."_

_"My dream come true."_ With that Ste shoots walker straight in the head. He fires a couple more rounds into him to make sure he's dead. He goes and picks up his phone and dials a number.

_"Hey it's done. Gonna need your help on this one."_

_"You in his flat?"_

_"Yep."_

_"Alright figured you were. Followed you. I'm outside the door so open up."_

Ste ends the call and walks over to the door. He opens it and moves aside to let him in.

_"Figured it out to late huh."_

_"Yeah. So now what?"_ Ste moves over to look at Walkers dead body.

_"Well time to frame that bastard. You got the card?"_

_"Yep Cheryl slipped it into me pocket."_

_"Isn't she a lovely sister?"_

_"The best Brendan. The absolute best._

* * *

**So who figured it out? Next chapter will tie everything together =)**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Once again I want to thank every single one of you that reviewed this and stuck with me on it. Now that that's taken care of I give you the last chapter! Please Enjoy!**

* * *

_"Brendan you just touched the table! Move I have to clean it now."_

_"Calm down I'm trying to stick Warrens card in his pocket and I need something to balance on."_

_"Fine whatever. Do you have everything else?"_

_"Yeah. Got it covered."_ Brendan finishes placing the card on Walkers dead body. _"Here give me the gloves I'm gonna touch his hands."_

Ste pulls them out of his pockets and puts them on Brendan's hands and leans up to give him a kiss on the lips.

_"Stop. We're not having sex with him here."_

_"He's dead."_

_"You're sick Steven."_

_"Thank you."_

Brendan takes out pieces of hair from a bag and places bits of it under Walkers nails.

_"Poor Walker fought for his life and managed to pull some of Warren's hair out."_

_"How did you get his hair anyway? It's weird."_

_"I'm helping you after you killed your coworker and I'm the weird one. But if you must know Cheryl got it. She made some fake argument and got physical and pulled his hair right off."_

_"I love her."_

_"Me too. Ok one more thing."_ He pulls out a napkin with tiny drops of blood on it_. "Where should I put this?"_

Ste looks around and points to a spot near the door_. "He's in a rush to get out and accidentally drops the napkin without realizing it."_

Brendan places the napkin down without touching the blood on it. _"Alright that should match up with the time of date as its new blood."_

_"How did he cut himself?"_

_"He didn't. I did."_

_"You cut Warren?!"_

_"Purposely yes. In his mind it was an accident. Asked him to help me open some boxes and I cut him with the box cutter. I then felt awful about it that I rushed and got him this napkin and held his hand as I applied pressure. I apologized and gave him the day off and told him I would clean up."_

_"You think he would have realized something was wrong when you said sorry."_

_"He's pretty stupid. I think we are good. Did you touch anything?"_

_"His gun obviously. Are we taking that to plant it in Warren's house?"_

_"No that's too much. It already has enough evidence. They will start thinking sometimes up. Well maybe. Your police force are morons."_

_"I know."_

Brendan walks over and wipes down the gun before placing it back on the counter. _"Alright come on back to my place. Cheryl's waiting and we gotta burn these clothes."_

Ste and Brendan give one last look inside making sure they didn't miss anything. Once they know they are fine they close the door and quickly make their way back to Brendan's.

* * *

_"What took you guys so long? I was getting worried."_ Cheryl jumps from the sofa and hugs them both. _"Is it done?"_

_"Taken care of sis."_

_"Good can't wait to see that lying bastard go to jail. Had it coming don't you think?"_

_"Sure did." _Both Brendan and Ste say simultaneously. Brendan wraps himself around him and pushes him on the sofa. He leans down and gives Ste a quick kiss as he goes to sit down on the opposite seat.

Ste blushes. _"I love you Brendan."_

_"I love you too Steven. My little partner in crime."_ He winks and then leans back.

_"So what are we doing now?"_ Cheryl says softly as she gets comfortable.

_"I got to wait till they call me letting me know another murder happened. I'll go down there and shockingly find evidence. Take it to the lab. They will get Warrens DNA and link it to him. He will get arrested soon after and then the cops will assume he committed the other murders."_

_"But love they don't have anything on him with the other ones."_

_"I know. But Cheryl those idiots will just want to wrap this up. They will believe anything. And I'll make sure they believe it."_

_"Perfect."_ Cheryl looks over and tunes on the tv. _"Oh Murder She Wrote. Love this show."_

After about 30 minutes Cheryl snaps out of her show induced trance and looks back to them.

_"Wait a minute. I never asked this before but how did y'all even get together?"_

Brendan sits up now and laughs. _"That's a funny story. Steven tells it better."_ He motions for him to start.

_"Well if you insist. Well I'll start from when I figured out he killed that guy in the flat."_

_"You knew he did it?"_

_"Not at first it was after I saw the video. When it was first called in and we went looking around the flat I was honestly blind sighted. The other 2 murders before I knew I did them so when this happened I was like oh another murderer in in the village."_

_"So what happened after?"_

_"Well I found the note and me and Doug headed to the storage unit. We were watching the video and nothing caught my eye. I saw the victim and what we assumed was the killer but he was off screen. Then the killer reaches out and we saw a watch. Black watch, common. Well the victim left and the video kept playing. I asked Doug to go speak to the manager again. I forgot what for though. And I kept watching this video. A minute later the camera moves. Think the strong winds must have knocked it over. It moved a little to the point I saw the car, white car. The screen got blurry though so I couldn't make out the person in the driver's seat. But he looked familiar."_

Ste looks over at Brendan who's smiling now.

_"I stand out quite often Steven."_

_"That's gonna do you in one time. Anyway I stopped it and me and Doug took it back to Pete. He was busy at the time so he looked at it once and didn't finish it but told me he would get back to it immediately after Doug asked him to focus on the watch. Well Doug left and I went down to the lab to investigate the video myself. I was intrigued. I managed to zoom into the watch and was able to get the band and make. And wouldn't you know these watches aren't common at all. Their rare in fact and only a few have been released. Not only that but they are well expensive. After that I went to the end of the video and zoomed into the driver's seat and well you should know who I saw."_

_"HA Brendan you're an awful criminal!"_

_"Shut up Chez."_

_"So love at that point you knew it was definitely him?"_

_"For the most part. I was like 90% sure. Luckily for me Brendan was taken in for that assault. As I was interviewing him he didn't give anything away. But then he messed up as he moved his arm onto the table."_

_"He saw my watch."_

_"Precisely. I saw it immediately and knowing how rare these are no one else in the village would have it. I confronted him and he went ballistic"_

_"Sorry about that again."_

_"Apology was accepted a long time ago. Anyway I don't know what happened but I felt something. Passion and rage. I wanted to kill him after he man handled me but then I thought this could work. I always wanted a partner in crime. So when he was released I got a plan."_

* * *

_***"Open the door Mr. Brady. This is DI Hay." Ste looks around as the door finally opens._

_"Well this is a surprise. What can I do for you?"_

_Ste walks right into his flat without even being invited in. "I think we need to discuss some things."_

_"Make yourself at home...I guess. What things do you want to talk about?"_

_Ste settles himself on the bar stool and grab a bottle of water that was on the counter. "Brendan why do you think I'm the top ranking cop here."_

_"Cause all the other cops are morons."_

_"I don't think that's a compliment."_

_"It's not."_

_"I would be nice to me Brendan. Since I have something on you."_

_"What's that?"_

_"Come here."_

_Brendan moves over and leans on the counter. Ste grabs his wrist and taps on the watch._

_"You want it?"_

_"No not my style. Anyway Brendan you ever heard of video surveillance?"_

_"Of course."_

_"Well you were caught on one."_

_"No I wasn't."_

_"Your watch was. Not only that but your car was as well. And you must be an unlucky person because as you were leaving the storage unit, you remember that meeting right? But yeah the camera tipped over and guess what? I saw you! I reviewed that tape and zoomed in on everything Brendan. It's clearly you."_

_"Fine maybe it was. Doesn't prove I killed the guy though."_

_"Maybe not. But it wouldn't be hard to convince the jury otherwise."_

_"Why are you here then?"_

_"I got a proposition."_

_"Which is?"_

_Ste takes the CD out if his jacket and places it on the counter. "The video of you. You can have it."_

_"Let me guess you want me to help you figure out the other murders. Sure. It was you."_

_"How do figure that?"_

_"Steven other people may not be able to detect your little hints you give but I do. You're not clever. And besides that why else would you be in my flat knowing I killed someone. Typical of someone who has already committed the same crime."_

_"You're one of the smarter people in this village Brendan and I think me and you could make quite a team don't you think."_

_"Maybe." Brendan places his arms on the bar stool and stares straight at Steven. "How can I trust you though."_

_"I could ask the same thing."_

_"You came to me not the other way around."_

_"Trust your gut instincts Brendan. What does it say?" ***_

* * *

_"And that's when we started working together."_

_"Ste you sneaky little bastard. Did you like Brendan from the start."_

_"God yes!"_

Cheryl throws a pillow at Brendan who has been dowsing off. _"Aww what a fairytale meeting. What about the rest of the killings?"_

_"Well with Doug he was just irritating me. That and I suspected he was going behind my back trying to solve things by himself. I didn't trust him. So I asked Brendan to take care of it for me. The next thing I know I find Doug mangled body in a bathtub."_

_"And Noah?"_

_"That one was simple. He was on to me from the start. The second he introduced himself as my partner I knew he was a dead man. He kept giving me these odd looks and being very secretive. We went to the club and I excused myself to the toilets where Brendan followed. He could see it too and told me he didn't like him. So Noah left and I texted Brendan telling him he walked out. I stayed behind to give him an alibi. That was that one. And you know about Walker he knew it was me. So I killed him."_

_"Brendan. The guy in the flat why did you kill him?"_

_"He owed me money. I asked for the drugs back that he was supposed to sell. He refused and you know me sis I don't like when people refuse me. So I killed him. Simple as."_

_"Well ok how about the hit and run and park murders. You did that Ste."_

_"Honestly the park murder I did it because I wanted to. No real reason. She was there and I needed a release. She just happened to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time. You should have heard her plead for her life. It was laughable. The hit and run girl I killed her cause she knew the park girl. Shame for her. Should have made better friends."_

_"You really are a mad man Ste."_

Stes phone goes off. He answers it and then stands up.

_"Got the call. Gonna head over there. I'll be back later though."_

_"Bye pet."_

_"See ya."_ Brendan doesn't even get up.

_"Brendan not even a kiss goodbye. That hurts."_

_"Shut your mouth and come here."_

Ste runs over and leans all the way and gives him a long kiss and then kisses him on the forehead. _"Love you Bren."_

_"Love you too. Now scram."_

* * *

After a couple hours Ste comes back to Brendan's flat. He looks around and Brendan is in the kitchen drinking whiskey.

_"Hiya! Where's Cheryl?"_

_"Out with Lynsey. So everything good?"_

_"Yep. Anne actually found some of the clues and without me even leading them in a direction she ended up doing it. They arrested Warren an hour ago. You should have seen his face as he kept yelling out 'I have been framed' should have took a picture actually."_

_"I can only imagine it. So what now?"_

_"Well no more killing till after Warren gets found guilty."_

_"That's no fun."_

_"I know but it shouldn't take long. Then we can start up again."_ Ste wraps himself around Brendan's back and licks his neck_. "Salty."_

_"So DI Hay what you wanna do tonight?"_

_"Well Mr. Brady I just arrested a murderer and solved my cases so I want to celebrate."_

_"Bedroom Steven. Now."_

Ste dashes towards the room as Brendan grabs the whiskey bottle and follows him. At their kitchen table lays a notebook. Stes notebook. Inside has notes about the cases and then at the end of it there's a page with Cheryl's handwriting. As a joke she wrote _'Diary of a Mad Man.'_


End file.
